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Looking forward to tonight’s launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station where a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will loft three payloads into space. The largest will be PSN-VI, a geostationary communications satellite named Nusantara Satu for the country of Indonesia. The second payload and the one garnering the most attention is an Israeli-built lunar lander called Beresheet that will attempt a soft landing on the Moon. The third and smallest payload is a small demonstration spacecraft for the U.S. military […]

After previous delays due to weather and technical problems, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket finally launched the United States Air Force’s first Global Positioning System III space vehicle (SV) from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 8:51 a.m. on 23 December 2018. Click to view the launch gallery.

The launch of the U.S. Air Force’s GPS III SV01 stood down for another day on 22 December 2018 after strong upper level winds failed to die down after a front passed through. The skyline of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station shows the rocket venting gaseous oxygen during fueling as the sun rose. Optimism ran high that the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket would launch on what appeared to be a beautiful morning, at least on the ground, to the point […]

Views of Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center taken on 18 December 2018. SpaceX is currently in the midst of a twenty year lease on LC-39A, the historic pad from the Apollo and Space Shuttle eras now refurbished to launch Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. Also launching from this pad soon, astronauts aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft that will launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket. The white arm sticking out to the right is the Crew Access Arm […]

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket vents gaseous oxygen into the cold morning air during fueling in preparation to launch a GPS satellite for the U.S. Air Force on 18 December 2018 from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Strong upper level winds caused a delay in the count in the hopes the winds would die down. When they did, a technical problem on the first stage forced a scrub for the day. Things are on track to […]

The SpaceX Falcon 9 booster for the CRS-16 mission floats in the water at Port Canaveral after being towed in earlier in the day on 7 December 2018. The booster strayed off course as it attempted to touchdown on Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. A failure of one of the grid fins that help steer and stabilize the rocket during its descent failed causing the rocket to come down further to the east in the Atlantic […]

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A carrying the Es’hail-2 communications satellite for the Qatar Satellite Company to provide service throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Liftoff occurred on time at 3:46 p.m. on 15 November 2018. Click to view the complete launch gallery.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage used for the Telstar 18 Vantage communications satellite launch returns to Port Canaveral on 12 September 2018 aboard the Of Course I Still Love You droneship that the booster landed on about eight minutes after launch a few hundred miles out in the Atlantic Ocean. Click to view a gallery of my Telstar 18 Vantage launch & booster recovery photos.

Lightning and rain around Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station delayed the launch of the Telstar 18 Vantage communications satellite aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for over an hour until the weather cleared allowing for lift off at 12:45AM on 10 September 2018. Click to view a gallery of my Telstar 18 Vantage launch & booster recovery photos.